Endoscopic device

ABSTRACT

An endoscope includes an insert portion, a display portion, a manipulation portion, a casing which houses the display portion and the manipulation portion at a front side, and to which the insert portion is connected at a back side, and a battery. The casing has an upper portion in which the display portion is housed and a lower portion in which the manipulation portion is housed. The insert portion is connected to the lower portion and extends from the lower portion in a first direction. And a line connecting a center of gravity of the battery and a center of gravity of the casing while the battery is housed in the casing extends in a second direction that intersects the first direction at an angle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an endoscopic device, and moreparticularly, to an endoscopic device in which an operation unit flexingan insertion section and a display unit displaying an image acquired bythe insertion section are built in a single chassis.

2. Description of the Related Art

An endoscopic device having an image capturing mechanism at a distal endof a long insertion section has been widely used to observe a samplelocated at an end of a thin and long insertion channel or to observe theinside of a sample.

Recently, an improvement in which a display unit displaying an imageacquired from the insertion section and an operation unit flexing theinsertion section are received in a single chassis so as to facilitatethe carrying and operation has been studied as an improvement of theendoscopic device.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No.2004-109222 discloses an endoscopic device in which a display unit andan operation unit are received in a common chassis. In the endoscopicdevice, a monitor unit is disposed at one end of the chassis and asubstantially rod-shaped grip is formed at the other end. An operationunit including a joystick is disposed between the grip and the monitorunit. A user operates the joystick with a thumb in a state where he orshe holds the rod-shaped grip at the time of operating the joystick.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, an endoscope includes a longflexible insert portion which has an imaging device on a tip thereof, adisplay portion which displays an image obtained by the imaging device,a manipulation portion for bending the insert portion, a casing whichhouses the display portion and the manipulation portion at a front side,and to which the insert portion is connected at a back side, and abattery which supplies electricity to the display portion. The casinghas an upper portion in which the display portion is housed and a lowerportion in which the manipulation portion is housed. The insert portionis connected to the lower portion and extends from the lower portion ina first direction. And a line connecting a center of gravity of thebattery and a center of gravity of the casing while the battery ishoused in the casing extends in a second direction that intersects thefirst direction at an angle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the entire appearance of anendoscopic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first joystick and an operationmechanism of the endoscopic device.

FIG. 3 is a rear view illustrating a chassis of the endoscopic device.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a front-and-rear direction of anupper section of the chassis.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the chassis.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an operation unit, a display unit, and achassis unit of the endoscopic device taken along the central axis lineof an insertion section.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating the endoscopic device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state where the endoscopic devicecomes in contact with the ground in an inversion mode.

FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display in astandard mode of the endoscopic device.

FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of the screen display inthe inversion mode of the endoscopic device.

FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of the screen display inthe standard mode.

FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an example of the screen display inthe inversion mode.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user's hand holdingthe chassis of the endoscopic device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the entire appearance of anendoscopic device according to a modification of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the entire appearance of anendoscopic device according to another modification of the invention.

FIG. 14A is a diagram schematically illustrating the shape of a gripface in the endoscopic device according to the modification of theinvention.

FIG. 14B is a diagram schematically illustrating the shape of a gripface in an endoscopic device according to another modification of theinvention.

FIG. 14C is a diagram schematically illustrating the shape of a gripface in an endoscopic device according to another modification of theinvention.

FIG. 14D is a diagram schematically illustrating the shape of a gripface in an endoscopic device according to another modification of theinvention.

FIG. 14E is a diagram schematically illustrating the shape of a gripface in an endoscopic device according to another modification of theinvention.

FIG. 15A illustrates the interior of a battery receiver according to anembodiment of the invention.

And FIG. 15B illustrates a battery according to an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An endoscopic device according to an embodiment of the invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. The endoscopic device 1according to this embodiment is used to observe a sample located at anend of a long and thin insertion channel or to observe the inside of thesample. As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscopic device 1 includes a longinsertion section 10, an operation unit 20 flexing the insertion section10, a display unit 40 displaying an image acquired from the insertionsection 10, and a chassis unit 60 having a chassis 61 receiving theoperation unit 20 and the display unit 40.

The insertion section 10 has a known configuration including anobservation optical system 11, an illumination mechanism 12 such as anLED, and an image capturing mechanism such as a CCD not shown at adistal end thereof, and can acquire an image such as a still image or amoving image of a sample located in front of the distal end. Theinsertion section 10 also includes a known flexible portion 13 in whichplural joint blocks or curved blocks (hereinafter, generally referred toas “joint blocks and the like”) not shown are arranged and connected inthe axis line direction and can be flexed in four directions in which itgoes away from a central axis line thereof in two axes intersecting thecentral axis line. Operation members such as four wires corresponding tothe four directions are connected to the joint block and the likeclosest to the distal end out of the plural joint blocks and the like.The operation members extend to the inside of the chassis unit 60 viathe joint blocks and the like and are connected to the operation unit20.

The operation unit 20 includes a first joystick (operation stick) 21operating the flexible portion 13, a second joystick 22 operating acursor displayed on the display unit 40, and a flexing mechanism beingoperated with the first joystick 21.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the first joystick 21 and the flexingmechanism 23.

The flexing mechanism 23 includes a frame 24 and a rocking member 25attached to the frame 24. The frame 24 is formed of a material such asmetal having predetermined rigidity, and includes a rocking memberreceiving portion 26 to which the rocking member is attached and a guideportion 27 extending from the rocking member receiving portion 26.

The rocking member 25 includes a first member 28 rotatably attached tothe frame 24, a second member 29 rotatably attached to the first member28, and an operation member fixing portion 30 attached to the secondmember 29.

The first member 28 is formed of a material such as metal or resin andincludes a rotation shaft portion 28A. The first member 28 is attachedto a second end portion 26B opposite to a first end portion 26A fromwhich the guide portion 27 extends in the rocking member receivingportion 26 so as to rotate in a predetermined range about the axis lineof the rotation shaft portion 28A.

The second member 29 is formed of a material such as metal or resin andincludes a shaft portion 29A having substantially a cylindrical shapeand a rotation shaft portion 29B having substantially a cylindricalshape and being formed at an end of the shaft portion 29A. The centralaxis line of the shaft portion 29A is perpendicular to the central axisline of the rotation shaft portion 29B.

The second member 29 is attached to the first member 28 so that the axisline of the shaft portion 29A and the axis line of the rotation shaftportion 29B are perpendicular to the central axis line of the rotationshaft portion 28A of the first member 28. The second member 29 canrotate in a predetermined range about the axis line of the rotationshaft portion 29B with respect to the first member 28 due to a notch 28Bformed in the first member 28 so as not to interfere with the shaftportion 29A.

The operation member fixing portion 30 includes a first arm 31protruding to both sides of a first direction and a second arm (notshown) protruding to both sides of a second direction perpendicular tothe first arm. Ends of four operation members 14 extending from theinsertion section 10 are fixed to both ends in the longitudinaldirections of the first arm 31 and the second arm. A connection member15 is attached to an end of each operation member 14. A bearing member32 to which the corresponding connection member 15 is attached isdisposed at both ends in the longitudinal directions of the first arm 31and the second arm. The operation members 14 are connected and fixed tothe operation member fixing portion 30 by inserting the connectionmembers 15 into the corresponding bearing members 32.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rocking member 25 is attached to the second end26B of the rocking member receiving portion 26 so that the central axisline of the shaft portion 29A of the second member 29 is substantiallycoaxial with the central axis line of the guide portion 27 of the frame24. The four operation members 14 extending from the insertion section10 are connected to the operation member fixing portion 30 via the guideportion 27. The shape of the frame 24 is set so as not to interfere withthe rocking of the rocking member 25 and the accompanying pushing andpulling (extend and retract) of the operation members 14.

The first joystick 21 is attached to the second member 29 so as to besubstantially coaxial with the shaft portion 29A of the second member29. Accordingly, by inclining the first joystick 21 in any direction, itis possible to rock the rocking member 25 relative to the frame 24 andthus to cause the operation members 14 connected to the operation memberfixing portion 30 to extend and retract in the longitudinal direction ofthe insertion section 10. As a result, it is possible to flex theflexible portion 13 in the opposite direction of the direction in whichthe first joystick 21 is inclined.

The second joystick 22 is an electrical operation mechanism of which oneend is attached to a board. The inclined direction is input to theboard, whereby a cursor moves in the direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display unit 40 has a known configurationincluding a display 41 such as an LCD and a control board (to bedescribed later) controlling the display of the display unit 41. Theexample where the display unit 40 is received in the chassis 61 will bedescribed in detail in describing the chassis unit 60.

The chassis unit 60 includes a chassis 61 receiving the operation unit20 and the display unit 40, a reinforcing member 62 attached to aconnection portion of the chassis 61 and the insertion section 10, and aholder (self-stand assist member) 63 attached to the base end of theinsertion section 10.

The chassis 61 includes an upper section 64 formed of resin or the likeand mounted with the display unit 40 and a lower section 65 connected tothe upper section 64 and mounted with the operation unit 20.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the chassis 61, where the holder 63 shown inFIG. 1 is removed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper section 64 isformed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped corresponding tothe shape of the display 41 of the display unit 40 and the display 41 isdisposed on the front surface 64A thereof. On the rear surface 64B ofthe upper section 64, heat-radiating fins 66 are disposed on the upperside and a lid 67 of a battery receiver (to be described later) isdisposed on the lower side. Two ground-contact members 68 formed ofrubber or elastomer are attached to the upper edge of the rear surface64B, whereby the friction coefficient is high. Clasps 69 used to attachaccessories such as straps are attached to the lower edge connected tothe lower section 65.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the upper section 64 taken along thefront-end-rear direction. In the upper section 64, the display unit 40is received in the front surface 64A and a battery B is disposed in therear surface 64B. A control board 42 including an IC 43 is connected tothe display 41 and is received in the rear surface of the display 41with the IC 43 facing the rear surface 64B.

The IC 43 generating heat at the time of operation is received at aposition close to the fins 66 disposed at the upper part of the rearsurface 64B, and a thermal-conduction sheet 44 is interposed between theIC 43 and the fin 66.

The battery B is received in the battery receiver 74 formed in the backof the control board 43. The battery receiver 74 has an opening in therear surface 64B of the upper section 64 that is closed by the lid 67.By positioning the opening in the rear surface 64B, the battery B can beeasily inserted and removed from the chassis 61.

The battery receiver 74 and the battery B have structures such that thebattery B can be fitted into the battery receiver 74 in only one way.That is, only one orientation of the battery B with respect to thebattery receiver 74 allows the battery B to fit in the battery receiver74. For example, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the battery receiver 74has a convex portion 74A that fits into a concave portion 74B in thebattery B. As a result, if the user inserts the battery B incorrectly,the convex portion 74A of the battery receiver 74 will not fit into thebattery B, and the battery B will therefore not fit in the batteryreceiver 74. The convex portion 74A may serve as a stopper that sets thebattery B in a predetermined position within the battery receiver 74.Alternatively, for example, the battery B may have the convex portion,and the battery receiver 74 may have the concave portion.

A thermal-insulation sheet 75 is disposed on the wall surface of thebattery receiver 74 close to the front surface, whereby the heatgenerated from the battery B is hardly transmitted to the display unit40. According to this configuration, the IC 43 and the battery Bgenerating heat at the time of using the endoscopic device 1 areseparated from each other. The heat generated from the IC 43 isefficiently radiated to the outside from the fin 66s via thethermal-conduction sheet 44, and the heat generated from the battery Bis hardly transmitted to the display unit 40 as described above. As aresult, it is possible to embody a structure in which two heatingmembers of the IC 43 and the battery B are received in the upper section64 but do not adversely influence the display or the like of the display41.

In addition to being positioned at the upper side of the rear surface64B, the heat radiating fins 66 can be positioned to at least partiallysurround in the battery B (or, more specifically to at least partiallysurround the battery receiver 74). For example, heat radiating 66 arealso disposed on left and right sides of the battery receiver 74 in FIG.3, so that the heat radiating fins 66 surround the battery B (batteryreceiver 74) on three sides.

The battery receiver 74 is positioned such that battery B is housedadjacent to a position where the upper section 64 and the lower section65 are connected. In addition, the battery receiver 74 is located sothat a distance between the battery B and the first joystick 21 is lessthan a distance between the display 41 and the first joystick 21.Moreover, the battery receiver 74 is positioned such that a distancebetween the display 41 and the battery B is less than a distance betweenthe display 41 and a line connecting an upper edge of the upper section64 and a connection portion where the insertion section 10 is connectedto the lower section 65.

The lower section 65 is a part which is held by a user's hand at thetime of using and operating the endoscopic device 1. As shown in FIG. 1,the lower section 65 is connected to the upper section 64 so that thefront surface 64A of the upper section and the front surface 65A of thelower section 65 form a predetermined angle so that the user can see thedisplay 41 well at the time of holding the lower section 65.

The peripheral edge of the front surface 65A has a curved shape which isnarrowed at a middle part in the vertical direction and is slowlywidened toward the lower edge. The peripheral edge is laterallysymmetric so as to appropriately hold the lower section 65 with any ofthe right and left hands.

Out of two joysticks of the operation unit 20, the second joystick 22 isdisposed on the lower side of the front surface 65A and the firstjoystick 21 is disposed on the upper side of the second joystick 22. Theline connecting the first joystick 21 and the second joystick 22 passesthrough the center in the lateral direction (the direction perpendicularto the vertical direction of the chassis 61) of the display unit 40 inthe front view of the chassis 61. The distal end of the first joystick21 protrudes from the front surface 65A by a predetermined length so asto be easily operated by the user holding the lower section 65. Thesecond joystick 22 protrudes from the bottom of a concave portion 70disposed in the front surface 65A and the height thereof is set so asfor the distal end not to protrude from the front surface 65A.

As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion section 10 is connected to the rearsurface 65B of the lower section 65. The insertion section 10 extendsfrom the middle part in the vertical direction of the rear surface 65B.A first slope (the first face) 71 rising toward the insertion section 10is formed in the rear surface 65B above the insertion section 10 and asecond slope (the second face) 72 rising toward the insertion section 10is formed below the insertion section 10. The rear surface 65B of thelower section 65 has a convex shape toward the rear side in the sideview of the chassis 61 due to the first slope 71 and the second slope72. In this configuration, the rear surface 65B out of the rear surfaceof the chassis 61 serves as a part (grip face) on which fingers arerested when the user holds the chassis 1.

The first slope 71 is set to such a size that an index finger and amiddle finger of a hand with a standard size are vertically arranged andsimultaneously rested thereon, and serves as a first finger rest. Afreeze/record button 71A used to record an image acquired by an imagingcapturing device of the insertion section 10 as a still image or amoving image is disposed in the first slope 71 and can be operated withan index finger when the user holds the lower section 65.

The second slope 72 is set to such a size that a ring finger and alittle finger of a hand with a standard size are vertically arranged andsimultaneously rested thereon, and serves as a second finger rest. Sincethe second slope 72 is formed in the lower section 65, as indicated by atwo-dot chained line in FIG. 5, the sectional area parallel to thelateral direction of the chassis 61 and perpendicular to the verticaldirection thereof slowly becomes smaller toward the lower end. Thesecond slope 72 includes a first holding face 72A and a second holdingface 72B sloped toward the peripheral edges in the lateral direction ofthe rear surface 65B and a third holding face 72C extending to the lowerperipheral edge of the rear surface 65B and connecting the first holdingface 72A and the second holding face 72B to each other. Accordingly, thesecond slope 72 has a shape convex toward the rear surface 65B in thebottom view of the chassis 61. Frictional members 73 formed ofelastically-deformable material such as rubber or elastomer are attachedto the faces of the second slope 72. Accordingly, the frictioncoefficients of the holding faces are higher than the other faces of thechassis 61.

As shown in FIG. 6, the size of the second slope 72 in the verticaldirection of the chassis 61 is greater than that of the first slope 71.

The reinforcing member 62 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shapeof which one end is reduced in outer diameter in a tapered shape, and isdisposed to cover the base end of the insertion section 10 connected tothe chassis 61 and the periphery thereof. The reinforcing member 62 hasconstant rigidity and thus the part of the insertion section 10 coveredwith the reinforcing member 62 is maintained in a straight line shape.That is, the reinforcing member 62 serves as a bending stopperpreventing the covered insertion section 10 from being bent at a largeangle.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the operation unit 20, the display unit40, and the chassis unit 60 taken along the central axis line of theinsertion section 10. The holder 63 is formed of resin or the like andincludes a first through-hole 63A with a large diameter formed at afirst end and a second through-hole 63B with a small diameter formed ata second end as shown in FIG. 6. The holder 63 is attached to aconnection portion between the insertion section 10 and the chassis 61with the reinforcing member 62 inserted into the first through-hole 63A.The inner diameter of the second through-hole 63B is slightly largerthan the outer diameter of the insertion section 10 and thus canmaintain the insertion section 10 inserted therethrough. Aground-contact face 63C is disposed at the second end of the holder 63and details thereof will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 6, the flexing mechanism 23 is received in the lowersection 65 of the chassis 61 so that the guide portion 27 is located onthe rear surface 65B, and the central axis line of the insertion section10 and the first joystick 21 in a neutral state of non-operation arecoaxial or substantially coaxial with each other.

When the battery B is received in the upper section 64 of the chassis61, the center of gravity of the endoscopic device 1 other than theinsertion section 10 is a designed center of gravity position CG1 shownin FIG. 6. The actual position of the center of gravity may be slightlyshifted due to allowable manufacturing errors of individual products,but should preferably be situated in an area A1, which is located withina predetermined radius from the designed center of gravity position CG1and includes the portion where the upper section 64 and the lowersection 65 are connected.

Moreover, when the battery B is received in the upper section 64, a lineconnecting (or extending through) a center of gravity of the battery B(see FIG. 6) and the center of gravity of the endoscopic device 1 otherthan the insertion section 10 extends in a direction (refer to the“Second Direction” in FIG. 6) that intersects a direction in which theinsertion section 10 extends from the lower section 65 (refer to the“First Direction” in FIG. 6).

When the battery B is removed from the upper section 64 of the chassis61, the location of the center of gravity of the endoscopic device 1(other than the insertion section 10) shifts downward and to the left inthe view shown in FIG. 6. That is, when the battery B is removed fromthe upper section 64 of the chassis 61, the location of the center ofgravity of the endoscopic device 1 (other than the insertion section 10)shifts toward the inside of the lower section 65.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating the endoscopic device1. The endoscopic device 1 includes an image processor 52 processing animage signal acquired by the image capturing mechanism 15 of theinsertion section 10, a storage unit 53 storing the acquired still imageor moving image, and a controller 54 controlling the entire operation ofthe endoscopic device 1 including the light intensity adjustment of theillumination mechanism 12, in addition to a display controller 51.

The image processor 52 and the controller 54 are stored, for example, inan IC (not shown) attached to the control board 42. Various knownstorage mediums can be used as the storage unit 53, which may bedetachably attached to the chassis unit 60. The image capturingmechanism 15 and the illumination mechanism 12 are connected to theimage processor 52 or the controller 54 via a line 55 extending to theinside of the chassis unit 60 through the insertion section 10. Thesecond joystick 22 of the operation unit 20 is electrically connected tothe controller 54 via a substrate or the like not shown.

The operation of the endoscopic device 1 having the above-mentionedconfiguration will be described below.

A user starts up the endoscopic device 1 in the state where the batteryB is received in the battery receiver 74 and inserts a distal end of theinsertion section 10 into a sample or an access channel to the sample upto an observation target site.

When it is intended to change the direction of the distal end of theinsertion section 10, the insertion section 10 is flexed in a desireddirection by operating the first joystick 21 of the operation unit 20 tocause the operation member 14 connected to the flexing mechanism 23 toextend or retract.

At this time, the user surrounds and holds the lower section 65 of thechassis 61 with his or her dominant hand and operates the end of thefirst joystick 21 protruding from the front surface 65A with his or herthumb. An example of the positional relation of the user's fingers andthe chassis unit 60 at the time of operation is shown in FIG. 6. At thetime of operation, at least an index finger F1 is located on the firstslope 71 of the rear surface 65B of the lower section and a littlefinger F4 is located on the second slope 72 in the side view of thechassis 61. Accordingly, the connection portion of the insertion section10 and the chassis unit 60 is located between the index finger F1 andthe little finger F4 and the insertion section 10 extends from the rearsurface 65B which is a grip face.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, a middle finger F2 in addition to theindex finger F1 is located on the first slope 71 and a ring finger F3 inaddition to the little finger F4 is located on the second slope 72.

When the distal end of the insertion section 10 reaches the observationtarget site, the user observes or inspects the sample while operatingthe operation unit 20. As needed, the user operates the freeze/recordbutton 71A to record a still image or a moving image of the target site.The acquired various images are stored in the storage unit 53.

When the hand holding the chassis 61 is tired due to the increase in usetime or the like, the chassis 61 can be placed on a ground, a desk, orthe like for operation. When the chassis 61 is placed, as shown in FIG.8, two ground-contact members 68 disposed in the upper section 64 andthe connection portion of the insertion section 10 and the chassis 61,that is, the boundary between the reinforcing member 62 and theinsertion section 10 and a predetermined range around the boundary, arebrought into contact with the ground. Accordingly, the chassis 61appropriately self-stands with the upper section 64 located on the lowerside and the lower section 65 located on the upper side.

Since the base end of the insertion section 10 extending from thechassis 61 is maintained in a straight line shape by the reinforcingmember 62, the chassis appropriately self-stands without the holder 63.However, as shown in FIG. 8, when the second end of the holder 63 isplaced to face the upper section 64 of the chassis 61, theground-contact face 63C is located on the ground-contact face of thechassis 61 defined by the ground-contacting connection portion and theground-contact member 68. As a result, the holder 63 can appropriatelysupport the self-standing of the chassis 61 and can maintain the chassis61 more stably. Hereinafter, the state where the endoscopic device 1 isused with the chassis 61 placed in this way is referred to as an“inversion mode”.

At the time of placing the chassis 61 in the above-mentioned way, theuser inputs a predetermined operation by the use of the operation unit20 and switches the display mode of the screen. The display controller51 switches the display of the display 41 from a standard mode shown inFIG. 9A to the display mode corresponding to the inversion mode shown inFIG. 9B in response to the input.

As shown in FIG. 9A, in the standard mode, the image acquired by theimage capturing mechanism 15 is displayed in a first region R1 and textinformation such as an operation menu or various parameters is displayedin a second region R2. In the inversion mode shown in FIG. 9B, the userviews an upset display. Accordingly, the text information displayed inthe second region R2 is vertically inversed from the standard modestate. On the other hand, the image displayed in the first region R1 isnot vertically inversed in the inversion mode. This is to maintain thecorrespondence between the image and the operation of the first joystick21. This is also to store the vertically-unified image in the storageunit 53 even when the image is recorded in any one of the standard modeand the inversion mode at the time of operating the freeze/record button71A to record an image.

On the other hand, since the above-mentioned consideration is notnecessary for a thumbnail picture representing a list of images storedin the storage unit 53, the images are vertically inverted and displayedin the first region R1 in the inversion mode shown in FIG. 10B. As aresult, the direction of thumbnail images Tn which are viewed by theuser is the same as the standard mode shown in FIG. 10A. In the case ofa retrieval picture (not shown) displaying an image corresponding to athumbnail image Tn selected from the thumbnail picture, the image isvertically inverted and displayed in the inversion mode.

As described above, in the endoscopic device 1 according to thisembodiment, since the first joystick 21 in the neutral state and theinsertion section 10 connected to the chassis unit 60 are coaxiallyarranged, the extend and retract amounts of the operation members 14become uniform to appropriately flex the flexible portion 13 at the timeof performing a flexing operation by the use of the mechanical flexingmechanism 23 employing the operation members 14.

In the rear surface 65B, to which the insertion section 10 is connected,of the lower section 65 of the chassis 61 in which the flexing mechanism23 is received, the first slope 71 and the second slope 72 are formedabove and below of the insertion section 10, respectively. Accordingly,the rear surface 65B has a convex shape rising toward the insertionsection 10 in the side view of the chassis 61. Therefore, the user'shand holding the lower section 65 grasps the rear surface 65B with thepalm of the hand maintained in a concave shape, at least one finger outof four fingers other than the thumb is placed on each of the firstslope 71 and the second slope 72 with the insertion section 10interposed therebetween in the vertical direction.

As a result, the force amount such as a moment acting on the chassisunit 60 due to the long insertion section 10 can be appropriatelyreceived by the user's hand regardless of the acting direction, therebystably holding the chassis 61.

Since the center of gravity of the endoscopic device 1 other than theinsertion section 10 is set within the region A1, the user canappropriately hold the chassis unit 60 with the hand holding the lowersection 65 and can stabilize the positions of the upper front surface64A and the lower front surface 65A. That is, states where it isdifficult to view the display unit 40 and to operate the operation unit20 do not easily occur, such as a state where the upper front surface64A is inclined toward the rear side or a state where the lower frontsurface 65A is parallel to the vertical direction. As a result, it ispossible to hold the chassis unit 60 in the state where the display 41can be viewed well and the operation unit 20 can be easily operated.

Due to the above-mentioned shape of the lower rear surface 65B, therocking center 21A of the first joystick 21 is located within the regionA2 defined by the first slope 71, the second slope 72 and the distal end21B of the first joystick 21 protruding to the front surface 65A onwhich the user's fingers are rested at the time of holding the chassis61 in the side view of the chassis 61 shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly, itis possible to provide an endoscopic device which can appropriatelyprevent the chassis unit 60 from being shaken due to the force amountacting on the chassis unit 60 at the time of operating the firstjoystick 21 and can reduce the fatigue even with a long-term operation.

Since the second slope 72 includes the first holding face 72A and thesecond holding face 72B, the distal ends of the fingers (for example,the ring finger F3 and the little finger F4) placed on the second slope72 are arranged along one of the first holding face 72A and the secondholding face 72B at the time of holding the lower section 65.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11, the fingers F3 and F4 placed on thesecond slope 72 are substantially opposed to the thumb Th. As a result,at the time of inclining the first joystick 21 with the thumb Th in thedirection (for example, in the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. 11) goingaway from the hand, such as a direction in which the thumb Th extends,the force amount, which acts with the inclination operation, forinclining the chassis 61 can be appropriately received by the ringfinger F3, the little finger F4, and the like and the operation can becarried out while maintaining the stabilized state of the chassis 61.Here, since the size of the second slope 72 in the vertical direction ofthe chassis 61 is greater than that of the first slope 71, the fingersplaced on the second slope 72 can be arranged with an appropriate gaptherebetween, thereby more stably holding the chassis in use.

The above-mentioned effect can be exhibited even when the flexingmechanism is electrically driven by a motor or the like. However, sincethe mechanical flexing mechanism employing only the operation membersgenerates a greater force amount with the operation of the firstjoystick 21, the effect is more greatly exhibited in the endoscopicdevice according to this embodiment.

This effect is similarly exhibited even when a button or the like isdisposed in the extending direction of the thumb Th in the operationunit 20 and the button is operated. FIG. 11 shows an example where theholding and the operation are performed with a left hand. In this case,the distal ends of the fingers placed on the second slope 72 are locatedon the second holding face 72B. When the user performs the holding andthe operation with the right hand, the distal ends of the fingers arelocated on the first holding face 72A. However, since the first holdingface 72A and the second holding face 72B are arranged symmetric aboutthe lateral center of the chassis 61, the same effect is obtained.

The friction members 73 having elasticity are attached to the firstholding face 72A and the second holding face 72B. Accordingly, even whena relatively large force amount acts on the fingers placed on the secondslope 72, the positional relation between the second slope 72 and thefingers is appropriately maintained. As a result, it is possible toappropriately hold the chassis unit 60 during the operation and thus toperform a stable operation.

Since the second joystick 22 protrudes from the bottom of the concaveportion 70 formed in the lower face 65A and the height thereof is set soas for the distal end not to protrude from the front surface 65A, thesecond joystick 22 is arranged at a position, which can be easilyoperated with the thumb Th, around the first joystick 21 and does notinterfere with the operation of the first joystick 21, thereby furtherimproving the operability of the endoscopic device 1.

Since the chassis 61 can be appropriately made to self-stand with theupper section 64 located on the lower side and the lower section 65located on the upper side so as to be used in the inversion mode bybringing two ground-contact members 68 disposed in the upper section 65and the connection portion of the insertion section 10 and the chassisunit into contact with the ground, it is possible to suitably use theendoscopic device 1 for a long-term operation. Even in the inversionmode under the control of the display controller 41, it is possible toeasily view the display of the display 41 and thus to appropriately usethe endoscopic device.

Although the invention has been described with reference to anembodiment, the technical scope of the invention is not limited to theembodiment, but the elements may be modified in various forms or may bedeleted without departing from the concept of the invention.

The grip face in the invention is not limited to the shape having thefirst slope and the second slope, but may have any convex shapeprotruding to the rear surface. In an endoscopic device 81 according toa modification shown in FIG. 12, a grip face 82 has a spindle shapeconvex to the rear surface. Since portions of the grip face 82corresponding to the first face and the second face are curved butfollow the curvature of the user's fingers holding the grip face 82, itis possible to appropriately arrange the fingers and to stably hold thegrip face 82. In FIG. 12, the hand Hd holding the grip face 82 in astate where the first joystick 21 is located on the fingertip side andthe display unit 40 is located on the hand base side is indicated by atwo-dot chained line, but the display unit 40 may be located on theupper side, similarly to the above-mentioned endoscopic device 1.

FIG. 13 shows an endoscopic device 91 according to another modificationof the invention in which a grip face 92 has a spherical shape. Sincethe grip face 92 also follows the curvature of the user's fingers Fholding the grip face 92 as schematically shown in FIG. 14A, it ispossible to appropriately arrange the fingers F.

FIGS. 14B to 14E are bottom views (the view shown in FIG. 5) of achassis schematically illustrating examples of the shape of a grip face.

A grip face 94 shown in FIG. 14B and a grip face 95 shown in FIG. 14Chave first holding faces 94A and 95A and second holding faces 94B and95B rising from both lateral edges of a chassis and are convex to therear surface in the bottom view of the chassis. The connection portionsbetween the first holding faces and the second holding faces form apexportions 94C and 95C. In the grip faces 94 and 95, since the user canrest a part of the fingers F (for example, a first joint) on the apexportions 94C and 95C, it is possible to more stably hold the chassis. Inthe grip face 95, the first holding face 95A and the second holding face95B are curved with a predetermined curvature so as to be concave to therear surface, but the apex portion 95C is formed. Accordingly, the basicshape of the grip face 95 is convex to the rear surface.

FIG. 14D shows a grip face 96 including a protrusion 96B protruding froma spherical basic face 96A. In this grip face, the user can rest thefirst joints of the fingers F on the protrusion 96B, thereby stabilizingthe holding.

FIG. 14E shows a grip face 97 including a concave portion 97B in aspherical basic face 97A. In this grip face, the user can stabilize theholding by resting the first joints of the fingers F on the concaveportion 97B. Since the concave portion 97B itself is not convex to therear surface but has the spherical basic face 97A, the basic shape ofthe grip face 97 is convex to the rear surface.

In this way, the grip face can be appropriately set depending on theusage of the endoscopic device, the users, or the like while having abasic shape convex to the rear surface. The grip face can have a shapeconvex to the rear surface in at least one of the side view of thechassis and the bottom view of the chassis. Even when the grip face isnot convex to the rear surface in both of the side view and the bottomview like the endoscopic device 1, the effect of stabilizing the user'sholding can be obtained to a certain extent.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it has been described that the centerof gravity position of the endoscopic device other than the insertionsection is set within the region A1 that includes the connection portionbetween the upper section and the lower section of the chassis and theperiphery thereof. However, even when the center of gravity is set to belocated out of the region A1 but within the region A3 shown in FIG. 6,the effect of stabilizing the holding and the operation can be obtainedto a certain extent.

Although it has been described in the above-mentioned embodiment thatthe ground-contact members 68 allowing the chassis 61 to self-stand byitself in the inversion mode are disposed in two separated places, theground-contact member may be disposed in a straight line with a constantlength (for example, a length capable of connecting two places in whichthe ground-contact members 68 are disposed in the embodiment) at theupper peripheral edge of the upper rear surface 64B. In this case, thechassis 61 can be appropriately allowed to self-stand and can be used inthe inversion mode.

Although it has been described in the above-mentioned embodiment thatthe illumination mechanism 12 is disposed at the distal end of theinsertion section 10, a light source may be disposed in the chassis anda light guide member such as a light guide may be disposed in theinsertion section to supply illumination light to the distal end of theinsertion section like some endoscopic devices in the related art.

The invention can be suitably applied to an endoscopic device capable ofusing only a battery as a power source, but it may be supplied withpower from an external power source in addition to the battery. In thiscase, when the center of gravity position of the endoscopic device otherthan the insertion section is greatly changed due to the detachment ofthe battery, a dummy member having the same shape and size as thebattery and having a weight smaller than that of the battery and capableof setting the center of gravity position within a predetermined regionin the state where it is received in the battery receiver may beprovided and may be received in the battery receiver for use at the timeof using the external power source.

It has been described in the above-mentioned embodiment that thefriction member having elasticity is attached to the first holding faceand the second holding face. However, even when a friction member notbeing elastically deformed is selected and attached to the holding facesso as to raise the friction coefficient, the above-mentioned effect canbe obtained to a certain extent.

Although it has been described in the above-mentioned embodiment thatthe reinforcing member and the self-stand assist member are attached tothe base end of the insertion section connected to the chassis, only oneof the reinforcing member and the self-stand assist member may beattached, or an endoscopic device may be allowed to self-stand with onlythe connection portion of the insertion section and the edge portion ofthe chassis close to the display unit without attaching any of thereinforcing member and the self-stand assist member.

According to the above-mentioned endoscopic device, it is possible tostably hold and operate the chassis.

1. An endoscope comprising: a long flexible insert portion which has animaging device on a tip thereof; a display portion which displays animage obtained by the imaging device; a manipulation portion for bendingthe insert portion; a casing which houses the display portion and themanipulation portion at a front side, and to which the insert portion isconnected at a back side; and a battery which supplies electricity tothe display portion, wherein the casing has an upper portion in whichthe display portion is housed and a lower portion in which themanipulation portion is housed, wherein the insert portion is connectedto the lower portion, is coaxial with the manipulation portion, andextends from the lower portion in a first direction, and wherein a lineconnecting a center of gravity of the battery and a center of gravity ofthe casing while the battery is housed in the casing extends in a seconddirection that intersects the first direction at a position inside thelower portion.